Printed liner for curling rinks

ABSTRACT

A liner for a curling rink which includes a flexible substrate adapted to underlie a layer of curling ice in a curling rink. The flexible substrate having a series of coloured markings defining at least one house.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a printed liner for curling rinks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Curling is a recreation winter sport played on ice. Each year before the curling season begins, a new rink must be set up. A typical curling rink is 146 feet long and between 14.2 and 15.7 feet wide. Prior to placing ice in the rink, the marking lines must all be carefully measured out, aligned and painted in their respective colours. The lines include a set of concentric rings call the house which are painted on the underlying surface at each end of the rink. The rings are defined by their diameter, and are further distinguished by their colour. Two crisscrossing lines are painted in across the rings to divide the house into quarters. Lines are also carefully painted down the length of the surface to mark a centre line. A tee line is painted 16 feet from and parallel to the back board. Another line known as the hogline is painted parallel to each backboard and 37 feet from it. A hackline is painted twelve feet behind the junction of the center line and the tee line. A back line is painted between the concentric circles and the backboard. All the markings and lines must be painstakingly measured out, aligned, painted, and time must be allotted for the paint to dry prior to even putting the ice in. The process is time consuming and those skilled in preparing the surface and putting ice are in high demand. At the end of the curling season, the ice is melted, and the water drains away along with the paint. When curling season arrives, the whole process must be repeated again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A liner for a curling rink which includes a flexible substrate adapted to be placed on an underlying surface of a curling rink prior to making ice. The flexible substrate having a series of coloured markings defining at least one house.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a printed liner constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a printed liner at each end of a rink installed in ice.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a printed liner for one end of a rink.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the printed liner of FIG. 1 rolled up prior to use.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the printed liner of FIG. 1 being unrolled.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a printed liner for one end of a rink with a removable marking.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment, a printed liner generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 6.

Structure and Relationship of Parts

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown liner 10 for a curling rink 12. Referring to FIG. 2, liner 10 includes a flexible substrate 14 adapted to be placed on an underlying surface 16 of a curling rink 12 prior to making the curling surface ice 19. In certain circumstances, an underlying layer of ice can be put in curling rink 12 prior to laying flexible substrate 14. Referring to FIG. 3, flexible substrate 14 has a series of coloured markings defining a house 20. Referring to FIG. 1, flexible substrate 14 may be marked for a complete curling rink with a house 20 at each end, or, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, substrate may be divided, such as into two parts 17, one for each end of curling rink 12, which would require a centre line 21 to be painted, printed or taped. Alternatively, two or more parts may meet (not shown) or overlap. In addition, it will be understood that the different parts may be lengthwise strips (not shown), in which each strip contains a portion of house 20. The markings defining house 20 include a set of concentric rings 22, a tee line 24, a backline 26 and a hogline 28. The position of the hack is indicated by line 29. Advertisements or team logos 30 may be also be printed on flexible substrate 14, as illustrated on FIG. 3 or printed on another, separate flexible substrate 27 as shown in FIG. 6. Separate flexible substrate 27 can then be positioned such that it overlies flexible substrate 14, and may be attached if desired. This method allows for more flexibility to change a sponsors advertisement or team logo 30 when ice 19 is melted off, without printing a new liner 10. Referring to FIG. 4, when not in use between curling seasons, liner 10 may be stored in a roll, which is then rolled out for re-use, as shown in FIG. 5.

Operation

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, liner 10 is provided as described above, with house 20 marked on it. Referring to FIG. 4, flexible substrate 14 may be provided rolled up prior to use. Referring to FIG. 5, flexible substrate 14 is laid out by unrolling it on an underlying surface 16 such as in curling rink 12 as shown in FIG. 2. Flexible substrate 14 may be made up of two parts 17 as shown in FIG. 2, or one as shown in FIG. 1. Referring again to FIG. 2, flexible substrate is covered with water which is then frozen to form layer of ice 19.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims. 

1. A liner for a curling rink comprising; a flexible substrate adapted to underlie a layer of curling ice in a curling rink, the flexible substrate having a series of coloured markings defining at least one house.
 2. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises more than one lengthwise or widthwise section.
 3. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein the substrate is divided into a first end portion and a second end portion, each of the first end portion and the second end portion having markings defining at least one house.
 4. The liner as described in claim 1 wherein the markings defining the house include a set of concentric rings, a tee line, a backline and a hogline.
 5. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein advertisements are printed on the flexible substrate.
 6. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein advertisements are printed on a second flexible substrate adapted to overlie the flexible substrate
 7. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein team logos are printed on the flexible substrate.
 8. The liner as described in claim 1, wherein team logos are marked on a second flexible substrate adapted to overlie the flexible substrate.
 9. A method of making a curling rink comprising the following steps; laying a flexible substrate having a series of coloured markings defining at least one house on an underlying surface; covering the flexible substrate with water; and freezing the water until it becomes ice.
 10. The method as described in claim 9, wherein the substrate is divided into more than one lengthwise or widthwise portion, each of the more than one portion having markings defining at least one house when installed.
 11. The method as described in claim 9, wherein the substrate is divided into a first end portion and a second end portion, each of the first end portion and the end second portion having markings defining at least one house; and positioning the first end portion at a first end of the curling rink, and positioning the second end portion at a second end of the curling rink.
 12. The method as described in claim 9 wherein the markings defining the house include a set of concentric rings, a tee line, a backline and a hogline.
 13. The method as described in claim 9, wherein advertisements are marked on the flexible substrate.
 14. The liner as described in claim 9, wherein advertisements are marked on a second flexible substrate adapted to overlie the flexible substrate.
 15. The liner as described in claim 9, wherein team logos are marked on an upper surface of the flexible substrate.
 16. The liner as described in claim 9, wherein team logos are marked on a second flexible substrate adapted to overlie the flexible substrate. 